On October 15, 2026, Wu-Tang Clan marked 29 years since Wu-Tang Forever was certified 4x platinum by the RIAA — a certification that landed just months after the album dropped.
Released June 3, 1997 via Loud/RCA Records, the double album was the follow-up to the group's landmark 1993 debut Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). It arrived after a run of solo projects from the Clan's members, and it proved the group was bigger than any one voice.
Despite limited radio and TV airplay — and a lead single, "Triumph," that ran nearly six minutes with no chorus — Wu-Tang Forever debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 612,000 copies in its first week.
On October 15, 1997, the RIAA certified the album 4x platinum. Because it was a double album, each disc counted as a separate unit toward certification. It remains the group's highest-selling album.
The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album at the 40th Grammy Awards, and its singles — "Triumph," "It's Yourz," and "Reunited" — became staples. Production came mostly from RZA, with 4th Disciple, True Master, and Inspectah Deck contributing, and guest appearances from Cappadonna, Streetlife, and Tekitha.
Fans marking the anniversary this week argued the album deserved even more — some saying it should have gone diamond. RZA himself has said he believed it could have reached diamond if not for the group's falling-out and ban from New York radio station Hot 97 at the time.
Twenty-nine years later, Wu-Tang Forever still stands as proof of what the Clan built: a double album, made on their own terms, that the whole world had to reckon with.
Sources: Wu-Tang Clan's anniversary post on Facebook and Wikipedia: Wu-Tang Forever.
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